Items about books I want to read, #24

And we are moving right along with list #24 of reminders for books I want to read at some point.

Via Blogcritics, a review of the new graphic novel Infinite Kung Fu. I did see this at a bookstore recently, but I just glanced. After reading this review, and seeing some positive notes in other places, I am adding it to my reading lists.

One of my guilty pleasures as of late is reading novels from the Warhammer 40,000 series. It’s a nice blend of escapism with military scifi in a very rich setting that I enjoy when I want to get away from it all. The Horus Heresy is a series within WH40K I have yet to explore. The events take place in the 31st Millennium. In the meantime, here is a review of one of the novels in the series, via My Favourite Books. The book is The Outcast Dead by Graham McNeill, who also wrote the Ultramarines novels that I recently read in the omnibus edition.

I follow and read the PostSecret blog. I’ve been wanting to read the books based on the blog as well to see which secrets were selected. Rebekah, at Blogging for a Good Book, reviews one these books: A Lifetime of Secrets.

On the one hand, this book may be a bit too academic for what I usually read. On the other hand, the topic sounds interesting enough that I may want to at least skim some of it. The book is People’s Pornography: Sex and Surveillance on the Chinese Internet. As of this post, the book has not been released. Global Voices has an interview with the book’s author. The book looks at “the culture of ‘Do It Yourself’ amateur porn on the Chinese Internet, as well as the interplay between pornography producers and consumers within the state’s censorship mechanism.”

Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic, reviews a manga that is “dumber than a peroxide blonde, with characters doing and saying things that defy common sense” and yet, the author of that manga “demonstrates a genuine flair for writing popcorn-movie manga.” The manga is Cage of Eden, and Ms. Dacey reviews the first volume of the series. I guess if I am looking for some very light reading and don’t have much else, this may be an option. Actually, sounds more like something my daughter might read. According to the review, the author “Yoshinobu Yamada combines these two survival narratives to tell the story of a high school holiday gone horribly wrong.”

Susie Bright has a new book out, which she describes as “about old-school porn and the erotic video revolution” and as “a ‘live’ history of erotic cinema before the Internet— from the Golden Age of lavish 35mm hardcore, to the video-inspired “Porno Spring,” initiated by none other than punk, feminist, and lesbian video-makers.” I will admit that I like old school erotic cinema, so I am curious about the book. The book is Susie Bright’s Erotic Screen: The Golden Hardcore & The Shimmering Dyke-Core, vol. 1. However, I may not get to it right away as she made it available only as an e-book (boo, hiss), which, while it may have some advantages, leaves those of us who usually do not read e-books out for the moment. Oh well, we’ll see. I still have many other things to read, so this will likely be very low priority.

Bob Sutton recommends in his blog this book for every manager. The book is The Progress Principle. I have expressed before my lack of enthusiasm when it comes to reading business and management books. Sutton is one of the few authors in that area whose works I like, so I will consider this book as well.

Via Powell’s Books blog, a story of music in the U.S. “In the Jazz Age, so-called territory bands played out of hotel ballrooms and broadcast over low-watt radio stations but also traveled as far as their reputations (and broadcasts) carried them.” The book is The Chitlin’ Circuit.

Forwords Books hosted the September edition of the Jewish Books Carnival, “a gathering of blogs about Jewish books and other happenings in the Jewish world.” And over here is the October edition at Homeshuling.

The Good Men Project has put together a list of “the best LGBT books of all time.” I will have to look it over and select a thing or two to read. A hat tip to Lambda Literary. However, the folks at GMP did one of those annoying things you often find on the web, which is breaking up a list into various web pages. I discovered that someone did take the time to put the list together in one place at Fawny (feel free to skip their rant about bad web developers though). So, use that last link if you just want to get to the point. I know I was glad I found it. If nothing, the list did attract comments at Lambda Literary about what made it or not.

The Harvey Awards (link to the Harvey Awards site. For now, the list is on the front page) have also been announced for 2011. A hat tip to Comic Book Resources, which has the winners’ list.

I am linking this in part for the list, and in part for the cover art on the books listed. ABE Books has a feature on their website of Retro Monster Books.

Via The Guardian, a list of Top Ten Iranian books. Given this is not an area I know much about, this list might give me a start. I have read one book from the list already, Persepolis. A hat tip to The Literary Saloon, which has links to additional suggestions.